Department for Transport

Bus Services: Coronavirus

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will provide face masks to bus passengers.

Rachel Maclean: There is no requirement for operators to distribute face coverings and it is a matter for operators to decide whether they want to distribute face coverings on their networks. In some cases, it will be difficult to do so, particularly at unstaffed stations and bus stops.

Public Transport: Coronavirus

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Volunteering Matters Journey Makers programme, how many Journey Makers volunteers are planned to be deployed; and at what locations will those volunteers be deployed.

Chris Heaton-Harris: We are planning to deploy volunteers across major transport hubs within England to supplement additional staff provided by transport operators. The number deployed will depend on the requirements of transport operators and Local Authorities. Ongoing liaison with transport operators is identifying sites where volunteers can be most effectively deployed to provide assistance.

Railways: Coronavirus

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which railway organisation will be responsible for the management of the Journey Makers volunteering programme.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The volunteering programme is being developed in consultation with Rail Delivery Group, Train Operating Companies, Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road. Volunteering Matters will co-ordinate with local volunteer organisations and coordinate volunteering arrangements to match volunteers with the requirements indicated by these industry groups.

Public Transport: Coronavirus

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Volunteering Matters Journey Makers programme, whether volunteers will be tested for covid-19 before being deployed; and what personal protective equipment will be issued to those volunteers.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Volunteers will not be tested for covid-19 before being deployed. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will be provided by the relevant local transport operator where the volunteers are being deployed. PPE provided will be in line with the latest guidance provided by Public Health England.

Public Transport: Coronavirus

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the (a) duration, (b) content and (c) the training provider for the training for Journey Makers volunteers.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The training and induction for volunteers will be provided by the local volunteer body. This will include the completion of a security awareness course that volunteers will complete prior to their deployment. The site-specific training and relevant health and safety training will be led by the transport operator.

Railways: Coronavirus

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what formula is used to determine the fee paid to train operating companies as part of the emergency measures agreements in place during the covid-19 outbreak.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Franchisees will be paid a maximum of 2% of the cost base of the franchise before the COVID-19 pandemic began, payable as a lump sum at the end of the initial 6-month Emergency Measures Agreement period. A proportion of the fee will be conditional on operators meeting performance, passenger experience and efficiency targets.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Scotland

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits for the Scottish economy of implementing the recommendations in High Speed Rail Group's report on extending HS2 upgrades beyond phase 2b.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government is committed to levelling-up the whole of the UK, including Scotland. In 2016, HS2 Ltd. made an early assessment of extending high speed lines into Scotland, taking into account the benefits for the region through reduced journey times as well as forecasted demand. At present, the Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the North is, among other things, looking at delivering better rail connectivity to Scotland, considering economic arguments around how this can be achieved.

Electric Scooters

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date the first e-scooter trials will begin.

Rachel Maclean: The Department will soon make the legal changes to enable trials. We are working with local authorities to help them put in place plans for trials. Trials are likely to start in different areas at different times, starting in the next few weeks.

Bicycles: Repairs and Maintenance

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's announcement entitled, £2 billion package to create new era for cycling and walking, published on 9 May 2020, when he plans to publish the (a) criteria for eligibility and (b) date of commencement of the cycle repair voucher scheme.

Chris Heaton-Harris: On 23rd May the Secretary of State announced £25 million of funding to provide up to £50 to members of the public wanting to get their old cycles roadworthy again. The Government is working with representatives from the cycle industry to design a scheme that can support up to half a million cyclists over the age of 18, including those using adapted cycles, who want to get their old bikes back in working order. We are also working to enable and encourage as many competent mechanics to participate as possible, to ensure there is sufficient repair capacity and so that independent shops can benefit from the scheme. We aim for the scheme to launch for members of the public by the end of June, and we will release eligibility criteria for customers at this time. In advance of this we will be opening the scheme to bike shops and mechanics to register and will provide further information on participation at this point.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Crewe

Dr James Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received a completed business case for an High Speed Two hub station at Crewe.

Andrew Stephenson: We welcome the work Cheshire East Council and the Constellation Partnership are doing to ensure the wider local benefits can be fully realised. We continue to work collaboratively on the development of a business case to support this vision and look forward to formally receiving in due course.

Railways: Coronavirus

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has issued to train passengers that are required to wear face coverings during journeys on what they should do when eating and drinking.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government has published updated Safer Transport guidance for passengers. The requirement to wear a face covering does not apply if you have a reasonable excuse not to wear one. Reasonable excuses include if you need to eat, drink, or take medication. In these circumstances you can remove your face covering. Exemptions are also in place for children under the age of 11, people with physical or mental illness of impairment, or disability, as well as other groups. The guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers.

Driving: Licensing

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving licence applications are awaiting processing; and what estimate he has made of the length of time it will take to process any backlog of applications; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean: There is no backlog for driving licence applications made online. Online services have continued to operate as normal throughout the pandemic. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a reduced number of staff on-site to comply with social distancing requirements in Wales. Postal applications have to be dealt with in person on our site in Swansea and will therefore take longer to process than applications made online. Since 4 June changes have been made to automatically extend the validity of 10 year photocard driving licences expiring between 1 February and 31 August, by a further seven months. Drivers do not need to take any action to benefit from this change and DVLA will write to them when their licence is due for renewal.

Midland Main Railway Line: Repairs and Maintenance

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish a report on the Network Rail (London to Corby) (Land Acquisition, Level Crossings and Bridge Works) Order application.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The report from the Planning Inspectorate on the Network Rail (London to Corby) (Land Acquisition, Level Crossings and Bridge Works) Transport and Works Act Order application, will be published alongside the decision letter from the Secretary of State when this is made. The Secretary of State will aim to issue his decision as soon as he can.

Buses: Electric Vehicles

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities have applied to the all electric bus town scheme; and what the names of those authorities are.

Rachel Maclean: A total of eighteen local authorities have submitted their applications to be considered for the All-Electric Bus Town scheme, with 19 bids received overall. These local authorities are: Blackpool Council, City of York Council, Cumbria County Council, Devon County Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Kent County Council, Luton Borough Council, Medway Council, Milton Keynes Council, Norfolk County Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Shropshire Council, Surrey County Council, Swindon Borough Council, Warrington Borough Council, West Midland Combined Authority and Worcestershire County Council.

Buses: Hydrogen

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing an all-hydrogen bus town scheme.

Rachel Maclean: In February, the Prime Minister announced a £5 billion package for buses and cycling, which includes support for the purchase of at least 4,000 new zero emission buses, making greener travel the convenient option and driving forward the UK’s progress on its net zero ambitions. The details of these programmes will be announced in due course.

Department for Transport: Electric Vehicles

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) battery and (b) hydrogen powered electric vehicles he has (i) driven and (ii) been a passenger in.

Rachel Maclean: While we do not know precisely how many battery and hydrogen fuel cell electric cars the Secretary of State for Transport has driven or been a passenger in, he does personally own a battery electric vehicle and is regularly a passenger in a Government Car Service electric car. More importantly, the government is investing around £2.5bn‎, with grants available for ultra-low emission vehicles and funding to support chargepoint infrastructure at homes, workplaces, on residential streets and across the wider roads network. In addition, we are consulting on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible, as well as including hybrids for the first time. By talking to stakeholders about the best way to achieve that ambition, the Government will more easily be able to identify what measures would be needed to support the transition to zero-emission and electric motoring.

Airports: Coronavirus

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what dates he had discussions with chief executives of UK airports in (a) March, (b) April, (c) May and (d) June 2020.

Kelly Tolhurst: In recognition of the challenging times that the aviation sector continues to face due to Covid-19, the Secretary of State has kept an open dialogue with UK airports. Engagement has included regular structured round tables with the Minister for Aviation as well as one-to-one calls, considered on a case by case basis. It would not be appropriate to comment on individual engagements or their frequency.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on establishing air bridges to other countries.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is actively considering the concept of international travel corridors, including air bridges, and how they could be implemented in practice along with other measures. Ultimately, we will be guided by the science, and the health of the public will always come first.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Business: Government Assistance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representation his recovery roundtables include from (a) trade unions and (b) civil society organisations; and if he will publish the membership of those roundtables.

Paul Scully: The Economic Recovery roundtables have brought together businesses, business representative groups and leading academics to consider the measures needed to support the UK’s economic recovery from Covid-19. They also explore key domestic and global challenges, including how to support a green and resilient recovery, and ensure the UK is at the forefront of new and emerging industries. The Department is engaging with a range of stakeholders to ensure we elicit a broad range of views on the UK’s economic recovery and continues to engage extensively with Trades Unions on its response to Covid-19. Civil society was represented on all of the Economic Recovery roundtables, including from NGOs and academics who had published notable research relevant to the questions discussed. We have published a list of the roundtable attendees on GOV.UK. The attendees come from across business sectors, regions and devolved nations, business representative groups, research bodies, partner organisations, and academia. The business attendees represent over a third of the UK economy. This list does not encompass the full range of stakeholders that BEIS Ministers and officials are engaging with. We have been welcoming comments from anyone that wishes to share their views by 17th June. We also continue to hold extensive engagement that will feed into this important work with stakeholders from across the economy, including small business networks and trades unions

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Gulf States: Overseas Aid

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent from the Integrated Activity Fund for activities conducted by the College of Policing during financial year (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the expenditure was from the Integrated Activity Fund for activities conducted by the College of Policing in the financial years (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.

James Cleverly: The Integrated Activity Fund spent £21,145.23 in 2019/20 on activities delivered by the College of Policing administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. There was no expenditure in 2018/19.

Iran: Detainees

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British/Iranian dual nationals are detained in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

James Cleverly: Holding answer received on 18 June 2020



We do not confirm publicly how many dual nationals are detained as, due to the small numbers, doing so may result in individuals being easily identified. We continue to urge the Iranian Government to immediately release all UK dual nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran - to enable them to return to their families in the UK. We continue to raise their cases at the most senior levels, and discuss them at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts. Our Ambassador in Tehran consistently raises all of our dual national detainees with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Anoosheh Ashoori

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on the return of the detained British national, Anoosheh Ashoori, to the UK.

James Cleverly: Holding answer received on 18 June 2020



The Government remains concerned about the welfare of British-Iranian dual nationals detained in Iran, including Anoosheh Ashoori. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and therefore does not permit access to British-Iranian detainees.We continue to urge the Iranian Government to immediately release all UK dual nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran - to enable them to return to their families in the UK.We continue to raise their cases at the most senior levels, and discuss them at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts. Our Ambassador in Tehran consistently raises all of our dual national detainees with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Our Embassy in Tehran continues to request consular access to Mr Ashoori and we have been supporting his family since being made aware of his detention.

Iran: Detainees

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking in response to concerns on the welfare of British/Iranian dual nationals illegally detained in Iran.

James Cleverly: Holding answer received on 18 June 2020



We continue to urge the Iranian Government to immediately release all UK dual nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran - to enable them to return to their families in the UK. We continue to raise their cases at the most senior levels, and discuss them at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts. Our Ambassador in Tehran consistently raises all of our dual national detainees with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.We will continue to raise their cases at the most senior levels. The welfare of all British nationals imprisoned in Iran remains our top priority.

Department of Health and Social Care

Mental Health Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to introduce 24 hour and seven days a week mental health support for (a) health and (b) care workers.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 02 June 2020



Mental health support is currently available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for National Health Service and social care staff. All keyworkers, including NHS and social care staff, can access ‘Our Frontline’. ‘Our Frontline’ is a collaboration of charities providing 24 hours a day, seven days a week one-to-one mental health support, via call or text, from a trained respondent.NHS and social care staff can also access a free wellbeing support helpline, available 7am-11pm, providing emotional support and onward signposting to specialist financial advice, bereavement care and coaching. If health and care staff call outside of these hours, they will be able to speak confidentially to a Samaritans volunteer.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that care homes inform families of covid-19 infections in their care homes.

Helen Whately: As part of its Emergency Support Framework, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) asks how providers share information about health and safety risks with staff, people using the service and any visitors. Additionally, the CQC has recently endorsed a joint statement from the Relatives and Residents Association and the National Care Forum which sets out shared expectations and good practice relating to the importance of clear, open, transparent and regular communications between care providers and the families of their residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

NHS: Telephone Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional funding has been made available to the NHS for the (a) mental health hotline for staff and (b) package of measures to support NHS staff through the covid-19 outbreak.

Helen Whately: At the beginning of the COVID-19 response, the Department commissioned NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a comprehensive package of emotional, psychological, and practical support for National Health Service staff.In response, NHS England and NHS Improvement have funded a range of services to support the health and mental wellbeing of NHS staff, including a dedicated staff support helpline (in partnership with Samaritans), virtual staff common rooms for mutual support, and a separate helpline offering bereavement support (in partnership with Hospice UK). More information on support available to all NHS staff is online at the following link:people.nhs.uk/help

Mental Health Services: Recruitment

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the November 2019 NHS workforce statistics, what steps he is taking to reduce the deficit of (a) 400 consultant psychiatrists and (b) 8,100 mental health nurses to tackle mental health problems after the covid-19 outbreak.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on recruiting an adequate number of mental health staff to meet the commitments made in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health by 2021; and what steps he is taking to meet the targets for those staff in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The interim NHS People Plan, published in June 2019 set out actions to reduce vacancies and secure the staff we need for the future. Since then, there have been a number of initiatives put in place to increase the National Health Service mental health workforce.The new junior doctor contract gives psychiatry trainees an additional £21,017 pay premia over the course of their training programme which is in addition to their normal pay. Health Education England has also increased the number of psychiatry placements available for junior doctors undertaking foundation training.For mental health nurses, the ‘Golden Hello’ offer for mental health nursing incentivises nurses to train in mental health and we have seen an increase in the number of postgraduate students studying mental health nursing since September 2018. We have also launched the ‘We are the NHS’ campaign highlighting nursing opportunities in mental health to garner more interest in this profession and we are committed to delivering 50,000 more nurses for the NHS.

Coronavirus: Social Distancing

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the validity of the scientific advice on (a) 1m and (b) 2m social distancing guidelines; and if he will publish the advice provided by SAGE to the Government on those measures.

Helen Whately: The Government’s public health guidance on COVID-19 is under constant review to ensure it reflects the latest advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and the latest evidence on the transmission of the virus. The Prime Minister has commissioned a comprehensive review of the two metre social distancing guidance, which will take advice from a range of experts including the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Adviser as well as behavioural scientists and economists. The review will examine how the two metre guidance is working at the moment, and will look at evidence around transmission in different environments, incidence rates and international comparisons.SAGE provides scientific advice to support United Kingdom decision-makers during emergencies. In recognition of the importance of transparency in these unprecedented times, SAGE has been publishing the statements and the accompanying evidence it has reviewed on the GOV.UK website to demonstrate how the scientific understanding of COVID-19 has continued to evolve as new data emerges, and how SAGE’s advice has quickly adapted to new findings that reflect a changing situation. SAGE’s most recent advice on transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and Mitigating Measures can be viewed on the GOV.UK website at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/892043/S0484_Transmission_of_SARS-CoV-2_and_Mitigating_Measures.pdf

NHS Trusts: Debts

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the level debt of each NHS Trust after the NHS debt write-off announced by his Department on 9 April 2020.

Edward Argar: Holding answer received on 16 June 2020



The level of National Health Service provider debt from Departmental loans will fall to £3 billion after the announced debt write-off. The remaining debt are loans which were taken out at the option of the providers, were subject to affordability assessment and are being repaid. The loan write-off will be transacted in 2020-21 through converting the loans to equity (Public Dividend Capital).This figure does not include debt taken from sources external to the Departmental group such as commercial debt and private finance initiatives.Data on total debt is currently not held by NHS England and NHS Improvement in the requested format.

Coronavirus: Mental Health

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on the mental health of (a) informal carers and (b) people accessing social care of the decision by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman not to (i) take on and (ii) investigate new complaints during the covid-19 outbreak.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 16 June 2020



On 8 April we published guidance for unpaid carers on GOV.UK, which includes advice on infection control, caring where someone has symptoms and links to other information and support.There is other guidance also published on GOV.UK for everyone, including unpaid carers, on self-care and mental health wellbeing.The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has started to restart suspended complaints and anticipates reopening for new complaints in the coming weeks. Members of the public will not lose their right of appeal, and complaints regarding the COVID-19 outbreak period will be considered in due course. The Ombudsman is not an emergency service, and members of the public are required by law to first have their complaints investigated by their council or care provider. The Ombudsman has also opened up a helpline to give advice and support to concerned members of the public.

Non-surgical Cosmetic Procedures and Plastic Surgery

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the easing of covid-19 restrictions, whether medical aesthetics practitioners are permitted to perform (a) dermal fillers and (b) other non-surgical procedures before 4 July 2020.

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to enable practitioners to administer non-surgical cosmetic interventions; and what guidance he plans to issue on ensuring the safety of those interventions for (a) patients and (b) practitioners during the covid-19 outbreak.

Ms Nadine Dorries: As part of the COVID-19 Recovery strategy, the Government has set up taskforces to work with industry representatives to develop safe ways for businesses to open at the earliest point at which it is safe to do so.Providers of medical or health services may remain open, including where they offer non-surgical cosmetic procedures for medical purposes. These services should take into account any guidance issued by regulators, the relevant professional body, Chief Professional Officers, and the National Health Service. Practitioners should ensure they have taken the necessary steps to become COVID-19 secure in line with health and safety legislation.

Respite Care: Coronavirus

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on carers of not being able to access breaks or respite as a result of the covid-19 outbreak in (a) City of Durham constituency and (b) England.

Helen Whately: This information is not held centrally for City of Durham constituency and England.

Coronavirus: Detention Centres

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people held in immigration detention have been tested for covid-19; and in which detention centres those people were held when tested.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 16 June 2020



I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd on 14 May 2020 to Question 43087.

Maternity Services: Coronavirus

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional (a) counselling and (b) support his Department  provided to people who gave birth during the covid-19 lockdown.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Guidance from the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists sets out that postnatal care should be regarded as essential care and women should be encouraged to attend appointments despite the pandemic.National Health Service mental health services - including specialist perinatal mental health services – remain very much open for business and mental health providers are looking at how they can maximise the use of digital and virtual channels to keep delivering support to existing and new service users. For those with severe needs or in crisis, NHS England has instructed all NHS mental health trusts to establish 24 hours a day, seven days a week mental health crisis lines, clearly accessible from trust websites.Further, we have made £5 million available to mental health charities in recognition of the vital role they play alongside the NHS in supporting people affected in numerous ways as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus: Death

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of reasons for the level of death by covid-19 of people diagnosed with (a) Dementia and (b) Alzheimer’s disease in (i) care homes and (ii) other settings.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 17 June 2020



Keeping people safe throughout this period is the Government’s top priority. We have been working closely with the sector and public health experts to put in place guidance and support for adult social care and we will continue to ensure they have everything they need to respond.We are monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on people with dementia. Informed by the Office of National Statistics 15 May publication ‘Deaths involving COVID-19 in England and Wales: deaths occurring in April 2020’ and the 5 June publication ‘Analysis of death registrations not involving coronavirus (COVID-19), England and Wales: 28 December 2019 to 1 May 2020’, we are working with our partners to understand what additional mitigating actions may be required to ensure the safety of people with dementia.We have also commissioned research on how to manage or mitigate the psychological, physical and social impact of COVID-19 on people with dementia living in the community, and their carers. Work has already started with phased outputs to August 2020.

Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia: Coronavirus

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the effect of social isolation on people with (a) Dementia and (b) Alzheimer’s disease during the covid-19 outbreak, and what steps his Department has taken to support those people.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 17 June 2020



Keeping people safe throughout this period is the Government’s top priority. Limiting visits in care homes have been advised in order to maintain infection control. Alternatives to in-person visiting, including use of telephones or video have been recommended as means of keeping in touch.We are aware that limiting visits in care homes is difficult for many families and residents who want to see their loved ones. We are reviewing our policy on visitors and will look to update our guidance shortly.We have also commissioned research on how to manage or mitigate the psychological, physical and social impact of COVID-19 on people with dementia living in the community, and their carers. Work has already started with phased outputs to August 2020.

Mental Illness: Mortality Rates

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative estimate he has made of the mortality rates of people with severe mental illness in contact with NHS mental health trusts (a) during the last three months and (b) in the same period in previous years.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The information requested is not held centrally.

Mental Health: Surveys

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the adult mental health survey for England 2021 has been commissioned.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Department has commissioned NHS Digital to procure a new national survey of the prevalence of mental health conditions in adults, the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. NHS Digital will run a tender exercise over the 2020 summer period to procure a supplier that will carry out the survey.

Plastic Surgery: Anaesthetics

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether medical aesthetics practitioners are permitted to (a) administer medical devices to apply dermal fillers and (b) perform other non-surgical procedures before 4 July 2020.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date the administering of non-surgical cosmetic interventions will be permitted; and what guidance he plans to issue to ensure the safety of patients and practitioners.

Ms Nadine Dorries: As part of the COVID-19 Recovery strategy, the Government has set up taskforces to work with industry representatives to develop safe ways for businesses to open at the earliest point at which it is safe to do so.Providers of medical or health services may remain open, including where they offer non-surgical cosmetic procedures for medical purposes. These services should take into account any guidance issued by regulators, the relevant professional body, Chief Professional Officers, and the National Health Service. Practitioners should ensure they have taken the necessary steps to become COVID-19 secure in line with health and safety legislation.

Department of Health and Social Care: Energy

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much energy his departmental buildings have used in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2020 to date.

Edward Argar: The amount of electricity and natural gas used by the Department’s buildings (in Kilowatt Hours) between 2015 and 2020 is shown in the following table. YearGas (KwH)Electricity (KwH)20159,394,4074,173,27520169,666,6974,059,86820179,547,3684,574,39520187,703,7453,854,40920198,097,6423,656,67520203,333,3911,978,644

Pregnancy: Ethnic Groups

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment his Department has made of mortality rates between black and white women in childbirth.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce mortality rates of black women in childbirth.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Department is funding the Maternal and Neonatal Policy Research Unit at the University of Oxford to investigate the factors associated with the excess perinatal mortality experienced by black, Asian and minority ethnic babies; and identify the factors associated with the excess risk of maternal death for black and South Asian women.The NHS Long Term Plan outlines plans to reduce health inequalities and address unwarranted variation in maternity care. This work is led by NHS England through the Maternity Transformation Programme.Targeted and enhanced continuity of care from the same midwife, or group of midwives can significantly improve outcomes for women. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out that 75% of black women will receive continuity of care from midwives by 2024.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what arrangements are in place for patients being discharged from hospital and into care homes to prevent the spread of covid-19.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 18 June 2020



It is our priority to ensure that everyone is discharged safely from hospital and to the most appropriate available place.Our guidance published on 2 April set out advice to care homes on infection control procedures to limit the spread of the virus in care homes. It set out the appropriate isolation required for care home residents who have been discharged from hospital following treatment for COVID-19. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-admission-and-care-of-people-in-care-homesThe Adult Social Care Action Plan published on 15 April set out further measures to support care homes in reducing transmission of the virus. This included a commitment to all patients being tested prior to discharge to a care home, with responsibility being given to councils to identify alternative accommodation where care homes are not able to provide appropriate isolation for people who have tested positive for COVID-19. Costs of providing alternative accommodation are covered by the £1.3 billion COVID-19 discharge funding provided via the NHS in March. The Adult Social Care Action Plan is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-adult-social-care-action-planOn 15 May, we published our care home support package. This responded to the latest evidence from Public Health England and sets out the steps that must now be taken to keep people in care homes safe, and the support that is brought together across national and local government to help care providers put this into practice. To support this, on 13 May we announced an additional £600 million to support providers through a new Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund.

Department for Education

Schools: Coronavirus

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to ensure that pupils who were eligible but did not return to school during the covid-19 outbreak on 1 June 2020 for safety reasons are not disadvantaged academically.

Nick Gibb: We want to avoid any child, whatever their background or location, falling behind as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.Pupils in Reception, year 1 and year 6 have been returning to school in smaller class sizes, alongside the children of critical workers and vulnerable children of all ages, who continue to be able to attend. From 15 June, secondary schools and colleges have been providing some face-to-face support for years 10 and 12 and students aged in the first year of a two-year study programme, who are due to take key exams next year.School leaders have explained that the level of challenge and nature of provision of remote education will vary across schools, and that schools need the flexibility to plan and provide remote education that is suitable for their circumstances. This includes considering the age of pupils. Remote education for younger children will typically need more involvement from parents, and parents are facing a range of pressures at this time. The Department has worked with teachers and school leaders to develop guidance on planning a curriculum and on remote education practice during COVID-19, which is at: www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-practice-for-schools-during-coronavirus-covid-19.The Government has committed over £100 million to boost remote education. This includes: providing devices and internet access for those who need it most, ensuring every school that wants it has access to free, expert technical support to get set up on Google for Education or Microsoft’s Office 365 Education, and offering peer support from schools and colleges leading the way with the use of education technology.To support the hard work of schools in delivering remote education, the new Oak National Academy, launched at the start of the summer term provides at least 180 video lessons for free each week, across a broad range of subjects, for every year group from Reception through to year 10. By 14 June, 3.4 million unique users had accessed the Oak National Academy website and 11.9 million lessons had been viewed.For pupils who may not have access to technology, offline education resources are also available through the many hard copy resources offered by publishers across the country and from the BBC, which is broadcasting lessons on television. Its Bitesize Daily TV shows were watched by over 2 million households on iPlayer in the first two weeks of transmission.We are working with a range of partners to explore how schools can best help their pupils to make up for time spent out of school.

Schools: Coronavirus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support smaller schools with the implementation of Government guidance on social distancing during the covid-19 outbreak.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the number of pupils that are permitted to return to school in compliance with covid-19 social distancing guidance is appropriate for smaller schools.

Nick Gibb: Thanks to the huge efforts everyone has made to adhere to strict social distancing measures, the scientific advice indicates the transmission rate of coronavirus has decreased and, based on all the evidence, we have been able to begin our cautious and phased approach to the wider opening of schools. We have provided guidance to schools on GOV.UK on implementing protective measures to lower the risk of transmission. These include ensuring that anyone with symptoms does not attend their education settings, promoting high standards of hand and respiratory hygiene, regular cleaning of touched surfaces, and minimising contact and mixing.School leaders are best placed to understand their own local circumstances and take decisions about what will work for their school buildings, staff and communities.Each setting’s circumstances will be slightly different. Any primary school that cannot accommodate the smaller groups that we are asking for at any point should discuss options with their local authority or trust. This might be because there are not enough classrooms or spaces available in the setting or because they do not have enough available teachers or staff to supervise the groups. If necessary, settings have the flexibility to focus first on continuing to provide places for priority groups and then, to support children’s early learning, settings should prioritise groups of children as follows:early years settings - 3 and 4 year olds followed by younger age groupsinfant schools - nursery (where applicable) and receptionprimary schools - nursery (where applicable), reception and year 1Our assessment, based on the latest scientific and medical advice, is that we need to continue to control the numbers attending school to reduce the risk of increasing transmission. Therefore, secondary schools are able to have a quarter of the year 10 and year 12 cohort (for schools with sixth forms) in school at any one time.

Education: Coronavirus

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential to the use civic buildings as venues for educational capacity during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: As part of national social distancing measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, we have had to limit the numbers of children and young people attending schools to ensure that pupils and staff attending could do so safely. Scientific advice indicates that a phased return that limits the number of children in education settings and how much they mix with each other will help to control the rate of transmission.Additionally, to reduce social contact, the Government has required by law certain businesses and venues to close to members of the public – with some legal exceptions. Details of these requirements are available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance.Therefore, it is not possible at this time for schools to use these venues.These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review.We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and because we know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers, carers and teachers. We are working to bring all children and young people back into education from September.

Schools: Coronavirus

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing compensation to schools that have been required to cancel planned foreign trips as a result of the covid-19 pandemic and have no insurance cover; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on that compensation.

Nick Gibb: Schools who have had to or are in the process of cancelling overseas or domestic trips should check with their travel agents or credit card companies regarding securing refunds in the first instance.If unable to recoup their full costs from the above sources, those academies and schools signed up to the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) for schools (an alternative to commercial insurance) should contact the RPA scheme administrators, whilst those academies/schools not covered by this scheme should contact their individual insurance companies.The Department is continuing to discuss the issue of school trip cancellation and cost recovery with key government partners and representative bodies of the travel and insurance sectors.Furthermore, we continue to advise schools to review any/all future trip and travel plans that they may have in light of current government advice on travel and social distancing.Insurance for schools is a matter for devolved administrations.

Schools: Fire Extinguishers

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will set out a timeframe for requiring newly-built schools to be fitted with sprinkler systems.

Nick Gibb: Sprinklers must be fitted in schools where they are deemed necessary to keep pupils and staff safe. All new school building projects must also comply with building regulations, including on fire safety, and this must be independently checked by Building Control or an Approved Inspector before buildings are occupied.We are currently updating Building Bulletin 100 (BB100), the Department’s guidance on fire safety design in schools. A revised version of BB100 will be the subject of a full public consultation in due course.All schools have to follow strict fire safety regulations, including having a fire risk assessment designed to ensure they are as safe as possible and well prepared in the event of a fire.

Education: Coronavirus

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what preparations his Department has made for schools to educate pupils virtually in the 2020-21 academic year in the event that further covid-19 social distancing measures are required.

Nick Gibb: Our latest guidance on remote education during COVID-19 is available here:www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.It is up to each school to determine how to deliver education to its pupils and whether and how to monitor participation. Many schools have shared resources – both online and printed resources – for children who are at home, and we are committed to ensuring that all children can continue to learn remotely in a number of ways during these very difficult circumstances.Being in school is vital for children’s education and their wellbeing. We are working towards bringing all children and young people back to school in September. These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Coronavirus

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many covid-19 (a) infections and (b) deaths have taken place in each prison in England and Wales.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many tests for covid-19 his Department has supplied to (a) prisoners and (b) prison officers who have presented as being asymptomatic.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has put robust measures in place to protect staff and offenders from COVID-19 and introduce ‘compartmentalisation’, to isolate those prisoners with symptoms, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals. Overall, prisons are seeing a decline in the numbers of new cases. The data in the table below shows the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases broken down by prison as of Friday 12 June 2020. These figures reflect the total number of recorded positive cases of COVID-19 since the first confirmed cases in mid-March, not the number of live cases. It includes individuals that have recovered. The numbers reported will be affected by a number of variables, including the availability of testing locally which can result in differences between sites and regions and as self-reported (for staff) through HMPPS management lines for central collation. As figures are as reported by prisons they may be subject to revision. To date the Ministry of Justice has not collected data on asymptomatic prisoners and staff as it is not the government policy to test asymptomatic cases.   EstablishmentStaff Cases Prisoner CasesTotal Number of Cases by EstablishmentAltcourse241539Ashfield000Askham Grange404Aylesbury~0~Bedford6~~Belmarsh12719Berwyn334073Birmingham22~~Brinsford22527Bristol~0~Brixton0~~Bronzefield6~~Buckley Hall~~5Bullingdon~0~Bure~0~Cardiff242246Channings Wood15924Chelmsford10~~Coldingley5~~Cookham Wood~~~Dartmoor~~4Deerbolt8~~Doncaster12820Dovegate8~~Downview404Drake Hall254166Durham46450East Sutton Park000Eastwood Park~0~Elmley505Erlestoke~~~Exeter000Featherstone~~5FelthamA~~~FelthamB6~~Ford~~~Forest Bank459Foston Hall~~~Frankland12~~Full Sutton606Garth707Gartree25934Grendon000Guys Marsh000Hatfield~~5Haverigg~6~Hewell37946High Down14~~Highpoint12~~Hindley10~~Hollesley Bay~~~Holme House231740Hull~0~Humber411051Huntercombe~~5Isis4610Isle of Wight~0~Kirkham5~~Kirklevington Grange~0~Lancaster Farms~0~Leeds4~~Leicester6511Lewes~0~Leyhill000Lincoln~4~Lindholme10010Littlehey9615Liverpool20~~Long Lartin~~5Low Newton0~~Lowdham Grange~0~Maidstone~~~Manchester192039Medway (Adult)000Moorland~~~New Hall~5~North Sea Camp~0~Northumberland14~~Norwich606Nottingham~0~Oakwood251944Onley16723ParcA~0~ParcB4711Pentonville15419Peterborough Female000Peterborough Male16~~Portland000Prescoed4~~Preston431659Ranby7512Risley201636Rochester000Rye Hill6~~Send~0~Stafford505Stanford Hill0~~Stocken4~~Stoke Heath~4~Springhill0~~Styal~0~Sudbury~~4Swaleside~0~Swansea101222Swinfen Hall5611Thameside41014The Mount9514The Verne~0~Thorn Cross~0~Usk131629Wakefield~~6Wandsworth~11~Warren Hill000Wayland000Wealstun~0~Werrington000Wetherby~0~Whatton0~~Whitemoor10616Winchester23~~Woodhill23023Wormwood Scrubs14620Wymott141529Total estate wide9634951458 The symbol ~ denotes suppressed values of 3 or fewer (and totals that would allow values of 3 or fewer to be calculated) to avoid the risk of identifying individuals. *Data is split between Feltham A and Feltham B to account for different age groups**Data is split between Parc A and B to account for different age groups***Data is split for male and female sites at Peterborough The tables below show the number of prisoners and prison staff who have sadly died having tested positive for COVID-19 or having shown symptoms. It is a matter for coroners to determine a cause of death. The data in the tables is correct as of Friday 12 June 2020.EstablishmentNumber of prisoner deathsHMP/YOI Altcourse2HMP/YOI Bedford1HMP/YOI Belmarsh1HMP Berwyn1HMP Channings Wood2HMP Durham1HMP Gartree1HMP Leicester1HMP Littlehey3HMP/YOI Low Newton1HMP/YOI Manchester1HMP/YOI New Hall1HMP Oakwood1HMP/YOI Peterborough1HMP Rye Hill1HMP/YOI Sudbury1HMP Usk1HMP Whatton1HMP Winchester1Total23 EstablishmentNumber of prison staff deathsHMP Dovegate1HMP/YOI Hollesley Bay1HMP/YOI Manchester1HMP/YOI Pentonville2HMP Thameside1HMP Usk1HMP/YOI Wymott2Total9

Prisons and Youth Custody: Coronavirus

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the number of covid-19 related deaths was for (a) inmates and (b) staff in each (i) prison, (ii) youth offending institution, (iii) secure training centre and (iv) other secure units in (A) Wales and (B) England as at 15 June 2020; and if she will publish a weekly update of those figures.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has put robust measures in place to protect staff and offenders from COVID-19 and introduce ‘compartmentalisation’, to isolate those prisoners with symptoms, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals.The tables below show the number of prisoners and prison staff who have sadly died having tested positive for COVID-19 or having shown symptoms. It is a matter for coroners to determine a cause of death. The data in the tables is correct as of Friday 12 June 2020.EstablishmentNumber of prisoner deathsHMP/YOI Altcourse2HMP/YOI Bedford1HMP/YOI Belmarsh1HMP Berwyn1HMP Channings Wood2HMP Durham1HMP Gartree1HMP Leicester1HMP Littlehey3HMP/YOI Low Newton1HMP/YOI Manchester1HMP/YOI New Hall1HMP Oakwood1HMP/YOI Peterborough1HMP Rye Hill1HMP/YOI Sudbury1HMP Usk1HMP Whatton1HMP Winchester1Total23 EstablishmentNumber of prison staff deathsHMP Dovegate1HMP/YOI Hollesley Bay1HMP/YOI Manchester1HMP/YOI Pentonville2HMP Thameside1HMP Usk1HMP/YOI Wymott2Total9 Sadly, a member of NHS healthcare staff who worked at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre has also died having tested positive for COVID-19.We currently publish deaths in custody, within our quarterly Safety in Custody statistics bulletin. The next Safety in Custody statistics bulletin is planned for publication on the 30th July and will include a breakdown of COVID-19 related deaths.

Prisoners' Release: Homelessness

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners were released without a fixed address from each prison in financial year 2016-17.

Lucy Frazer: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The Government has now decided that because of public health and public protection considerations, there is a need to provide accommodation for prison leavers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Justice has secured appropriate funding for a time-limited period to support the provision of accommodation for all individuals released from prison during this period, who are at risk of homelessness. The temporary accommodation scheme will run until 26th June at which point it will be reviewed, taking account of the situation at that time. This is an exceptional measure reflecting the current challenges. Additionally, we are also working in collaboration with other government departments and interested parties to help to secure a range of accommodation options for prisoners on their release.Whilst our immediate concern is to support those individuals released from prison into suitable accommodation, in the long-term we will analyse the lessons learned during this period, to further develop how we can improve the accommodation offer for those with a history of offending.

Prisons and Young Offender Institutions: Coronavirus

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prisoners and (b) prison staff in each of Prisons and Young Offender Institutions have (i) been tested, (ii) tested positive and (iii) died of covid-19.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has put robust measures in place to protect staff and offenders from COVID-19 and introduce ‘compartmentalisation’, to isolate those prisoners with symptoms, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals. The Department of Health and Social Care is solely responsible for testing for COVID-19 both in the community and in secure settings. As such, we do not hold data on the total number of prisoners and staff who have been tested. Overall, prisons are seeing a decline in the numbers of new cases. The data in the table below shows the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases broken down by establishment as of Friday 12 June 2020. These figures reflect the total number of recorded positive cases of COVID-19 since the first confirmed cases in mid-March, not the number of live cases. It includes individuals that have recovered. The numbers reported will be affected by a number of variables, including the availability of testing locally which can result in differences between sites and regions and as self-reported (for staff) through HMPPS management lines for central collation. As figures are as reported by prisons they may be subject to revision. EstablishmentStaff Cases Prisoner Cases Total Number of Cases by EstablishmentAltcourse241539Ashfield000Askham Grange404Aylesbury~0~Bedford6~~Belmarsh12719Berwyn334073Birmingham22~~Brinsford22527Bristol~0~Brixton0~~Bronzefield6~~Buckley Hall~~5Bullingdon~0~Bure~0~Cardiff242246Channings Wood15924Chelmsford10~~Coldingley5~~Cookham Wood~~~Dartmoor~~4Deerbolt8~~Doncaster12820Dovegate8~~Downview404Drake Hall254166Durham46450East Sutton Park000Eastwood Park~0~Elmley505Erlestoke~~~Exeter000Featherstone~~5FelthamA~~~FelthamB6~~Ford~~~Forest Bank459Foston Hall~~~Frankland12~~Full Sutton606Garth707Gartree25934Grendon000Guys Marsh000Hatfield~~5Haverigg~6~Hewell37946High Down14~~Highpoint12~~Hindley10~~Hollesley Bay~~~Holme House231740Hull~0~Humber411051Huntercombe~~5Isis4610Isle of Wight~0~Kirkham5~~Kirklevington Grange~0~Lancaster Farms~0~Leeds4~~Leicester6511Lewes~0~Leyhill000Lincoln~4~Lindholme10010Littlehey9615Liverpool20~~Long Lartin~~5Low Newton0~~Lowdham Grange~0~Maidstone~~~Manchester192039Medway (Adult)000Moorland~~~New Hall~5~North Sea Camp~0~Northumberland14~~Norwich606Nottingham~0~Oakwood251944Onley16723ParcA~0~ParcB4711Pentonville15419Peterborough Female000Peterborough Male16~~Portland000Prescoed4~~Preston431659Ranby7512Risley201636Rochester000Rye Hill6~~Send~0~Stafford505Stanford Hill0~~Stocken4~~Stoke Heath~4~Springhill0~~Styal~0~Sudbury~~4Swaleside~0~Swansea101222Swinfen Hall5611Thameside41014The Mount9514The Verne~0~Thorn Cross~0~Usk131629Wakefield~~6Wandsworth~11~Warren Hill000Wayland000Wealstun~0~Werrington000Wetherby~0~Whatton0~~Whitemoor10616Winchester23~~Woodhill23023Wormwood Scrubs14620Wymott141529Total estate wide9634951458 The symbol ~ denotes suppressed values of 3 or fewer (and totals that would allow values of 3 or fewer to be calculated) to avoid the risk of identifying individuals. *Data is split between Feltham A and Feltham B to account for different age groups**Data is split between Parc A and B to account for different age groups***Data is split for male and female sites at Peterborough The tables below show the number of prisoners and prison staff who have sadly died having tested positive for COVID-19 or having shown symptoms. It is a matter for coroners to determine a cause of death. The data in the tables is correct as of Friday 12 June 2020.EstablishmentNumber of prisoner deathsHMP/YOI Altcourse2HMP/YOI Bedford1HMP/YOI Belmarsh1HMP Berwyn1HMP Channings Wood2HMP Durham1HMP Gartree1HMP Leicester1HMP Littlehey3HMP/YOI Low Newton1HMP/YOI Manchester1HMP/YOI New Hall1HMP Oakwood1HMP/YOI Peterborough1HMP Rye Hill1HMP/YOI Sudbury1HMP Usk1HMP Whatton1HMP Winchester1Total23 EstablishmentNumber of prison staff deathsHMP Dovegate1HMP/YOI Hollesley Bay1HMP/YOI Manchester1HMP/YOI Pentonville2HMP Thameside1HMP Usk1HMP/YOI Wymott2Total9

Prisoners' Release: Coronavirus

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners in prisons and Young Offender Institutions have been (a) released under End of Custody Temporary Release Scheme and (b) granted temporary release under each of the three categories eligible for Covid-19 Release on Temporary Licence on Compassionate Grounds.

Lucy Frazer: On 31 March, we announced that pregnant women and prisoners with their babies in custody will be considered for Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) on compassionate grounds during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Friday 12 June, 23 pregnant women and mothers with babies in custody have been released.In addition, prisoners identified as ‘extremely vulnerable’ as defined in the NHS guidelines will merit consideration for ROTL on compassionate grounds during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Friday 12 June,19 extremely vulnerable individuals have been released.On 4 April, we announced the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme. This scheme enables risk-assessed prisoners, who are within two months of their release date, to be temporarily released from custody, as part of the national approach to managing public services during this challenging period. As of Friday 12 June, 113 offenders have been released from a prison or a young offenders institution under this schemeAlongside the careful release of low-risk offenders, we are also implementing our compartmentalisation strategy to manage different cohorts of the prison population, working to expedite remand cases and temporarily expanding the estate through the installation of single occupancy units. This is to strike a balance between limiting the spread of COVID-19 in prisons while ensuring the public is protected.

Prisoners' Release: Females

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that women eligible for release from prison are denied that release as a result of a lack of suitable accommodation.

Lucy Frazer: We recognise that it is vital that everyone leaving prison has somewhere safe and secure to live as a platform to access the services and support needed to during this difficult period.In response to the current unprecedented emergency, the Government is releasing risk- assessed prisoners who are within two months of their release date from prison, as part of the national plan to protect the NHS and save lives. Additionally, pregnant women and those with their babies in prison are considered for Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) under the Special Purpose Licence (SPL) provisions, subject to individual risk assessment. Our intention is to make sure that no prisoner will be released without housing and health support being in place.Her Majesty Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have set up seven Homelessness Prevention Taskforces (HPTs) to coordinate the sourcing of accommodation for those offenders released early, in order to ensure no offender is released early without accommodation in place. Approximately £3 to £5m funding has been made available to support the HPTs to secure accommodation for those released through this scheme without suitable accommodation to return to.Since our announcement regarding the plans to temporarily release individuals within two months of their planned conditional release date, we have been working hard to create a wider scheme that is deliverable, sustainable and that would provide the best outcomes for prison leavers while ensuring the public is protected.Government has now decided that because of public health and public protection considerations, there is a need to provide accommodation for a larger cohort of prison leavers. The Ministry of Justice has secured appropriate funding for a time-limited period to support the provision of accommodation for all individuals released from prison during this period, who are at risk of homelessness.Whilst this scheme is an immediate response to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness during this period, the MoJ is keen to utilise the learning gathered from this scheme to help develop longer-term improvements. We will draw on that learning as we develop and roll out our wider reforms to probation services.

Department for International Trade

Riot Control Weapons: USA

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has authorised the export of (a) anti-riot and ballistic shields and (b) components designed for that equipment, for end users in the United States in the last 12 months.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has authorised the export of electric shock belts designed for restraining people, for end users in the United States in the last 12 months.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has authorised the export of (a) water cannons and (b) components for that equipment, for end users in the United States in the last 12 months.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has authorised the export of (a) acoustic devices for riot control purposes and (b) components for that equipment, for end users in the United States in the last 12 months.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department authorised the export of (a) riot control vehicles which have been specially designed or modified to be electrified to repel boarders and (b) components for end users in the US in the last 12 months.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department authorised the export of electric shock dart guns for end users in the US in the last 12 months.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: With reference to question UIN: 58658, One Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) and two Open Individual Export Licences (OIEL) have been authorised for anti-riot and ballistic shields; one OIEL has been authorised for components designed for such equipment also, for users in the United States of America in the last twelve months.With reference to question UIN: 58660, No SIELs, nor OIELs have been authorised for the export of (a) electric shock belts designed for restraining people, nor (b) components for such equipment, for end users in the United States of America in the last 12 months.With reference to question UIN: 58661, No SIELs, nor OIELs have been authorised for the export of (a) water cannons; nor (b) components for such equipment, for end users in the United States of America in the last 12 months.With reference to question UIN: 58662, No SIELs, nor OIELs have been authorised for the export of (a) acoustic devices for riot control purposes; nor (b) components for such equipment, for end users in the United States of America in the last 12 months.With reference to question UIN: 58663, No SIELs, nor OIELs have been authorised for the export of (a) riot control vehicles which have been specially designed or modified to be electrified to repel individuals attempting to board (or otherwise latch on to) riot control vehicles; nor (b) components for such equipment, for end users in the United States of America in the last 12 months.With reference to question UIN: 58664, One SIEL, though no OIELs have been authorised for the export of (a) ‘tasers’; and (b) no licences have been authorised for components for such equipment, for end users in the United States of America in the last 12 months. The licence simply permitted the return of faulty equipment to its manufacturer in the United States of America.

Prime Minister

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to Question 51836 and with reference to his decision to allow Dominic Cummings to remain in post following his trip to the North East from London during the covid-19 lockdown, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of that decision on public attitudes towards cooperating with social distancing and other guidelines to avoid transmission of covid-19; and if he will make a statement.

Boris Johnson: As I said on Monday 25th May, I do not believe that anybody in Number 10 has done anything to undermine our messaging. I am satisfied that Mr Cummings’ actions were in line with the Government’s guidance, and Durham Police have also stated, ‘Durham Constabulary does not consider that by locating himself at his father’s premises, Mr Cummings committed an offence’. We all have a duty to be clear in our advice to the public throughout this unprecedented pandemic. The Government’s guidance remains clear: we all must stay alert, in order to control the virus and save lives. That means continuing to observe social distancing, limiting contact with others, washing our hands regularly, and self-isolating if we have symptoms. It is thanks to the common sense of the British public that we have got the R rate beneath 1, and it is only by pulling together in this national effort that we will defeat coronavirus.

Ministry of Defence

Military Bases

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which constituency each (a) base, (b) garrison and (c) barracks of each of the armed forces in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland is located; and which of those bases are designated for use by (A) NATO and (B) US visiting forces.

Jeremy Quin: A table showing which constituency each Ministry of Defence base, garrison and barracks is located within England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is attached. The database purely identifies areas of land owned or leased by the Ministry of Defence. Due to recent changes, the function of a site may differ from that shown in the database. Bases designated for use by NATO in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are as follows: Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) – Northwood Headquarters – South West HertfordshireNATO Joint Electronic Warfare Core Staff (JEWCS) – Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton – YeovilNATO Intelligence Fusion Centre (NIFC) – Royal Air Force Molesworth - North West CambridgeshireDeployed Communication Module Delta (DCMD), part of 1 NATO Signals Battalion – Blandford Camp – North DorsetHead Quarter Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and Head Quarter 1st Signal Brigade – Imjin Barracks – Tewkesbury  Bases designated for use by the United States Visiting Forces (USVF) in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are as follows: Royal Air Force Alconbury - HuntingdonRoyal Air Force Barford St. John - BanburyRoyal Air Force Croughton – South NorthamptonshireRoyal Air Force Fairford - The CotswoldsRoyal Air Force Feltwell - South West NorfolkRoyal Air Force Lakenheath - West SuffolkRoyal Air Force Menwith Hill – Skipton and RiponRoyal Air Force Mildenhall - West SuffolkRoyal Air Force Molesworth - North West CambridgeshireRoyal Air Force Welford - NewburyBlenheim Crescent – Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner 



58638-MOD Military Bases Located in the UK
(Excel SpreadSheet, 65.61 KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Medical Assessments

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were awaiting an assessment for (a) personal independence payments, (b) employment and support allowance and (c) the limited capability for work component of universal credit in each of the most recent six months for which data is available.

Justin Tomlinson: In each of the most recent six months, the number of individuals claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC) with either an assessment scheduled or awaiting scheduling in the UK can be found in the table below. The department continues to process both New Claims and Changes of Circumstance and encourage anyone with a change in their needs to contact the Department so that we can ensure they are receiving the correct level of support. We are unable to separate out individuals for the Limited Capability for Work element of Universal Credit and have therefore provided the total number of individuals claiming Universal Credit awaiting an assessment. Dec-19Jan-20Feb-20Mar-20Apr-20May-20PIP168,310184,340193,800164,720156,620132,640ESA87,50081,10073,65081,770101,010115,680UC62,74060,08059,03083,190120,080143,120  Please note: data has been rounded to the nearest 10.The data provided is derived from unpublished contractual management information produced by the Assessment Providers which was collected for Internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

Debts: Coronavirus

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations of the Stepchange report Coronavirus and personal debt: a financial recovery strategy for households, published June 2020, on ending the five week wait for universal credit.

Will Quince: The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of the design and the current advance system works, and works quickly. It is not possible to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made, as the assessment period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated. Advances are in place to ensure financial support is available to those in need as soon as possible, with most claimants able to request an advance of up to 100% of the monthly amount they are due to receive.

Personal Independence Payment: Coronavirus

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2020 to Question 47371, for what reasons personal independence payment (PIP) claimants whose award was made following an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal and was due to expire before 24 March were excluded from the policy of automatically extending PIP awards in line with her Department's press release entitled Coronavirus Update – Benefits reviews and reassessments suspended.

Justin Tomlinson: As previously announced, since 24 March the Department has been extending awards of Personal Independence Payment due to end from that date onwards, regardless of whether the final decision on the award was made by a Case Manager or a Tribunal.

Social Security Benefits

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2020 to Question 43084, how many requests for mandatory reconsideration of (a) employment support allowance and (b) personal independence payment were completed by her Department in (i) March, (ii) April and (iii) May 2020.

Justin Tomlinson: Statistics on Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) clearances for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Work Capability Assessments (WCA) covering the period up to April 2020 are published and can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml Guidance for users is available at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html Statistics for May 2020 are due to published in September 2020.

Personal Independence Payment

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy that existing disability living allowance recipients who are awarded a higher rate of Mobility or Daily Living allowance after applying for personal independence payment (PIP) because their health has deteriorated are awarded those higher rates from the date of their PIP application.

Justin Tomlinson: When existing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) recipients begin to get paid a new award of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) a single rule is applied, which is the subject of statutory Regulations, regardless of their circumstances or the outcome of the claim. PIP is a different benefit to DLA and the statutory arrangements maintain the level of DLA paid while the claim to PIP is being processed to ensure continuity of payment. The arrangements also provide for a minimum four week run on to provide additional, limited support to those seeing a decrease in financial support. For those entitled to PIP, the rules also operate to allow a smooth transition without running the risk of over or underpaying anyone and represent the fairest outcomes for the majority of claimants going through the process of being reassessed for PIP. These arrangements have been in place since DLA to PIP reassessment activity commenced from October 2013 and we have no plans to change them.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sea Bass: Conservation

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to issue guidance for Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities on administering the test in relation to sea bass in s.157(2)(b) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009; and if his Department will consult with Fish Legal in the development of that guidance.

Victoria Prentis: Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) are independent statutory authorities, directly responsible for managing sea fisheries resources in their districts sustainably. The Secretary of State does not have a role in confirming emergency byelaws; rather, each IFCA is empowered to decide to introduce an emergency byelaw and whether it meets the qualifying criteria set out in section 157(2) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. Defra has supported the IFCAs by providing best practice guidance on IFCA byelaw-making, including emergency byelaws made under section 157, which is accessible via the GOV.UK and IFCA websites. Defra has not received further requests for clarification from the IFCAs regarding the current statutory guidance on the qualifying criteria.

Angling

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the findings for the 2016 and 2017 Sea Angling survey will be published.

Victoria Prentis: Publication of the Sea Angling surveys for 2016 and 2017 has been delayed due to the Government’s response to COVID 19. The findings are now due to be published in the summer of this year. Reports for 2018 and 2019 are due to be published later in the year, and will set out estimated catches by recreational sea fishers as well as their economic contribution.

Recycling: EU Law

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to interpose the Circular Economy Package into law.

Rebecca Pow: The UK remains committed to meeting its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement and we have a manifesto commitment to protect and restore our natural environment after leaving the EU. Our landmark Environment Bill will help us achieve this. In the Resources and Waste Strategy published in 2018, we challenged ourselves to achieve a 65% municipal recycling rate target and to send 10% or less municipal waste to landfill by 2035. Work is underway to achieve these targets, which will help move towards a circular economy, keeping resources in use as long as possible, so we extract maximum value from them.

Agriculture: Coronavirus

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of individuals self-isolating on the ability of small family-run farms to continue to operate during that isolation.

Victoria Prentis: We understand the challenges that farmers are facing as a result of the coronavirus crisis and appreciate that many farms are very small and often family-run so there is limited capacity to cover sickness. We have been working with the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and others to work out ways how to address this.The Government's priority has always been to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections by keeping workers safe and protected, and we have been clear that anyone showing symptoms of coronavirus infection, however mild, must self-isolate by staying at home for seven days from when the symptoms started, following public health guidance.The Government took a number of early steps to help our farmers and to ensure they have the support they need during these challenging times. These included designating employees in the food sector as key workers and temporarily relaxing the normal rules on drivers' hours, enabling the sector to keep supply chains running, including deliveries from farm gate to processors. We have worked closely with banks to ensure farmers have access to financial support, including the Government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan scheme.We remain in regular contact with our food and farming sector, and are working closely with the main farming charities, meeting them regularly, to ensure we are doing all we can to support them. A Government-backed package of £370 million has been made available to help small charities and we are encouraging farming charities to apply for funding through this route.Further information on what support is currently available can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19

Dogs: Meat

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations he has received on the recently proposed bans on the human consumption of dog meat in Shenzhen and Zhuhai, China.

Victoria Prentis: While this department has received representations about the treatment of dogs in China, we have not received any representations about the proposed ban on the human consumption of dog meat in Shenzhen or Zhuhai, China.

Glass: Recycling

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing safeguards to prevent glass producers switching to polyethylene terephthalate due to the higher costs associated with reverse vending machines filled with glass.

Rebecca Pow: The Government is keen to avoid any unintended consequences. An Impact Assessment will be published alongside the second consultation which assesses the costs and benefits of a deposit return scheme (DRS), including the costs to business, and covers the wider environmental impacts of implementing a DRS. We are continuing to consult with stakeholders to advise us on any unintended consequences. The Government’s commitment to introducing a DRS is part of its commitments to reform producer responsibility systems to incentivise producers to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products. The set up and operational costs of a DRS will be met through producer fees, paid by producers of drinks containers in-scope of a DRS and material revenue from recycling returned drinks containers. We have also sought views regarding whether unredeemed deposits should be used to part fund the system.

Companies: Palm Oil

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress (a) Unilever and (b) other UK companies have made on meeting the target of 100 per cent use of sustainable palm oil.

Rebecca Pow: In 2012, the Government and UK industry established a UK Roundtable on Sourcing Sustainable Palm Oil, to support efforts to increase the use of certified palm oil in the UK market. Figures from the UK Roundtable indicate that the UK's imports of certified sustainable palm oil rose from 16% in 2010 to 77% in 2018. The roundtable tracks only aggregate figures and does not report on behalf of individual companies or industry associations.

Grapes: UK Trade with EU

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether regulations that enable wineries to produce wine from grapes imported from EU countries will remain in place after the transition period.

Victoria Prentis: UK-produced wine has a growing international reputation and the Government is committed to supporting a thriving UK wine industry. After the Transition Period, the effect of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act means it will not be possible to use grapes from third countries (including those from the EU) for the purpose of producing wine in Great Britain (GB). It will continue to be possible to use grapes from EU countries for the purpose of producing wine in Northern Ireland. During the Transition Period, production of wine in the UK from grapes imported from the EU is permitted. This period allows GB operators time to adapt their practices in readiness for our departure from the single market and customs union. The Government will keep the rules on the production and marketing of wine under review.

Home Office

Religious Buildings: Security

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding her Department has allocated to improving security at places of worship in the South Wales Police area in the last 12 months.

Kit Malthouse: The Places of Worship Protective Security Fund (POW) is a key commitment in the Hate Crime Action Plan published in 2016. The Scheme provides funding to places of worship that have been victims of or are vulnerable to hate crime attacks for physical protective measures such as alarms, fencing and access control. The scheme is currently in its fourth year of funding, and successful applicants for this scheme will be announced in due course. There was only one application from Wales in Year 3. However, the criteria were set across all applications and this application did not meet the minimum requirements to receive funding.Over the first three years of the scheme we provided £1.5m funding for over 130 grants and have £1.6m committed for this financial year (2019/20). There was not any funding allocated under the POW scheme in the South Wales Police area in year three (2018/19). However, the scheme is open to places of worship across England and Wales, and we will continue to promote the scheme across Wales for future rounds of funding.Following the attacks in Christchurch, we supported Faith Associates to deliver security training prior to and during Ramadan. They delivered 22 workshops across England and Wales, and distributed advice and guidance to over 2,000 mosques, madrassahs and community centres.The Jewish Community Protective Security Grant was introduced in 2015 following a series of terrorist attacks against Jews and Jewish locations across Europe. In 2018-19 a grant of £13.4m was provided to fund additional protective security measures, primarily guarding, at Jewish state, free and independent schools, colleges, nurseries and some other Jewish community sites, including synagogues. A grant of £14m is to be provided in 2019-20. We do not keep a breakdown of funding by region.

Shoplifting

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to ONS statistics released on 23 January 2020, if she will make an assessment of the reasons for the 14 per cent increase in  police recorded incidents of shoplifting in England and Wales over the last decade.

Kit Malthouse: We recognise the significant costs on communities, businesses and the economy that shop theft can have which is why we changed the law in 2014 to enable some cases to be dealt with more quickly and efficiently.The Office for National Statistics has commented that improvements in recording practices by the police have made a substantial contribution to rises in recorded crime over the last five years.

Fraud: Telephone Services

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate the Government has made of the number of people who have lost money through telephone scams in (a) UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Linlithgow and East Falkirk Constituency in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: Victims of fraud and cyber crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are encouraged to report these crimes directly to a centralised reporting centre called Action Fraud. Fraud victims in Scotland also reported crimes directly into Action Fraud until December 2019, when Police Scotland decided that victims should report incidents directly to them, via their 101 service. These reports are now recorded separately from Action Fraud data. Action Fraud does not categorise fraud reports by the mode in which the fraud was conducted. Fraud can often encompass several different methods of communication, so it may not necessarily be clear to the victim what the primary vector for this kind of criminal attack was. Victim locations are only recorded when sufficient information is provided. For these reasons, the data requested is not held centrally. If the MP is concerned about fraud levels in his constituency, he should contact the City of London Police and Police Scotland directly. Whilst they will not be able to provide the data requested, they should be able to discuss fraud in his constituency with him in more depth.

Hamas

Brendan Clarke-Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria the Government uses to distinguish between the political and military wings of Hamas in relation to the proscribing of organisations.

James Brokenshire: The elements of Hamas which meet the criteria for proscription under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 are listed in Schedule 2 to that Act. The relevant entry proscribes “Hamas Izz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades (Hamas IDQ)”. Those parts of Hamas which do not fall within the Schedule 2 entry are not proscribed.Hamas IDQ, the military wing of Hamas, was proscribed in March 2001. The political wing of Hamas is not proscribed as it is considered that there is a clear distinction between Hamas’s military and political wings. In distinguishing between the political and military wings for the purposes of proscription, the Government's aim is to proscribe only those parts of Hamas which are directly concerned in terrorism.

Charities: Radicalism

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding additional to the Prevent programme her Department has allocated to charities working to tackle online extremism in communities and build community resilience.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has provided a wide range of funding and support to civil society organisations to counter extremism. As of May 2020, the Home Office, through the Building a Stronger Britain Together (BSBT) Programme has awarded £8.8m of grant funding to support 252 counter extremism projects.In addition to grant funding, the programme has awarded 118 packages of In-Kind support to organisations to expand their capabilities in delivering communications aligned to BSBT outcomes. Support includes training, creating social media campaign and website support.

Hong Kong: Immigration

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will grant Hong Kong Locally Employed Personnel who were full members of the UK armed services before 1997 the same immigration status as applies to Ghurka soldiers.

Kevin Foster: Under the British Nationality Selection Scheme introduced in 1990, a limited number of Hong Kong Military Service Corps personnel who were settled in Hong Kong could apply to register as a British citizen. The Scheme ran until 1 July 1997. The Immigration Rules which apply to those who have served in the Brigade of Gurkhas were introduced on the basis of the unique nature of the Gurkhas’ service.

Immigration Bail

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long it takes on average for someone granted bail from immigration detention to be found an adequate place to be housed.

Chris Philp: Providing the information requested would require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.

Immigrants: Health Services

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department on holds on the number of people working in health and care who are (a) liable for and (b) have paid the immigration health surcharge for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office does not collect this data by employment type.

Internet: Safety

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of risk of online harm as more people spend time online during the covid-19 outbreak.

James Brokenshire: We know that people are spending more time online during this period and this can put them at greater risk of experiencing online harm. We have been working closely with technology companies, civil society and academia to understand and respond to the risks presented during this period. Although it is too early to confidently analyse patterns from this period, there is universal concern about keeping children safe online.HMG published new guidance on April 23rd to help all users to stay safe online during the coronavirus outbreak. It includes detailed advice on protecting personal data, cyber security and disinformation. It also provides additional guidance for parents on online safety issues affecting children such as child sexual abuse, exposure to age-inappropriate content and cyberbullying. In addition, the NCA has published information on how to avoid fraud and scams linked to Covid-19.This Government is committed to delivering legislation to tackle online harms. This will introduce a statutory duty of care on companies to take steps to protect their users from harm, including child sexual exploitation and abuse. We are currently working swiftly to prepare a full Government response, which we will publish later this year. This will include more detailed proposals on online harms regulation and will be released alongside interim voluntary codes of practice on tackling online terrorist and child sexual exploitation and abuse content and activity. We will follow the full Government response by introducing Online Harms legislation in this session.

Home Office: Written Questions

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to Question 8998 tabled on 27 January 2020 by the hon. Member for Easington.

Kit Malthouse: The response for UIN 8998 was given on 19th June 2020.

Cabinet Office

Public Sector: Procurement

Martyn Day: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the guidelines on measuring and managing supplier performance provided in the Contract Management Standards; and if he would make a statement.

Chloe Smith: Details of the Contract Management Professional Standards, including a foreword by the then Civil Service Chief Executive, are published on GOV.UK and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contract-management.

Ethnic Groups: Equality

Sajid Javid: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many full-time equivalent officials were employed by the Government in the Racial Disparity Unit on June 10 (a) 2020, (b) 2019 and (c) 2018.

Chloe Smith: The Race Disparity Unit became a fixed team in 2019. On 10 June 2020 there were 25 full-time equivalent officials; on 10 June 2019 there were 26 full-time equivalent officials.

Civil Service: Ethnic Groups

Dawn Butler: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of merging the four cross-departmental BAME staff networks in the Civil Service to improve efficiency.

Chloe Smith: These networks are led by civil servants on a voluntary basis, and the network leaders themselves felt that maintaining separate networks was important.

Mortality Rates: Ethnic Groups

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the mortality rates were for each ethnic group in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 114.31 KB)

Government Departments: Buildings

Apsana Begum: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what risk assessment has been undertaken by the Government Property Agency on the requirement for externally-contracted support staff to return to work in multi-hub office locations; and if he will publish that risk assessment.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government Property Agency has made of the disproportionate effect on BAME employees of contracting covid-19 in requiring externally-contracted support staff return to work in multi-hub office locations.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps have been taken by the Government Property Agency to ensure that externally-contracted support staff in multi-hub office locations have access to personal protective equipment.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government Property Agency is taking to ensure that externally-contracted support staff in multi-hub office locations have access to personal protective equipment.

Chloe Smith: Government advice and guidance is clear that people should work from home wherever possible to reduce the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. Advice has been provided to departments on how to support all workers performing roles which require them to be in the workplace, in line with the government guidance on safer working during COVID-19. Assessments are being completed in line with relevant guidance.The Government Property Agency is working with contractors to promote social distancing and to seek assurance from contractors that necessary mitigating measures are taken to manage identified risks, including in respect of PPE.Staff - including ethnic minority individuals - are supported based on their particular circumstances and have the right to challenge a proposed return to the workplace if they have concerns. Contractors are completing individual discussions with staff that are deemed to be at greater risk, including where relevant BAME colleagues or those with declared underlying health conditions.

Treasury

Food: Wholesale Trade

Neil Parish: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of implications for his policies of the conclusions of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors survey that (a) 50 per cent of businesses surveyed that have a turnover of £45 million or lower, are in danger of going into liquidation in the next three months to a year, (b) 70 per cent of respondents supply to schools, care homes, hospitals and (c) £270 million worth of public sector contracts are at risk; and if he will make a statement.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Local Authorities (LAs) can choose to make discretionary grants to businesses in supply chains, like wholesale distributors, if they feel there is a particular local economic need. The Government has allocated up to £617 million to LAs to enable them to give discretionary grants to businesses in this situation. LAs may choose to focus payments on those priority groups which are most relevant to their local areas or to businesses outside of these priority groups, so long as the business was trading on 11th March, and has not received any other cash grant funded by central Government. Wholesale distributors can also benefit from other elements of the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the four government-backed loan schemes for firms of all sizes. The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the schemes open and how to apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder. On 11 May the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out our plan for moving to the next phase of our response. The strategy sets out a cautious roadmap for easing existing measures in a safe and measured way. Our aim is that all non-essential retail will be able to reopen by 15 June if the Government’s five tests are met and they follow the COVID-19 secure guidelines. The roadmap will be kept constantly under review, and we will continue to work hard to support business and workers as the situation evolves. The Department for Transport is engaging with the haulage industry to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the sector.

Non-domestic Rates: Coronavirus

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the Valuation Office’s rounding policy on applications for Coronavirus Business Grants; and if he will (a) temporarily suspend the rounding policy used by the Valuation Office Agency when assessing the rateable value of a premises and (b) ensure that SMEs that benefit from that suspension are able to submit backdated applications for Coronavirus Business Grants.

Kemi Badenoch: A property’s valuation for rating purposes is the Rateable Value (RV) shown in the Rating Lists. It is this readily available information which Local Authorities have used to help determine eligibility for grants under the Small Business Grant Fund, and Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Grant Fund. Linking these grants to the existing business rates system has allowed Local Authorities to make payments quickly to businesses in need. The RV represents the VOA's opinion of the open market rental value at the valuation date. Rounding ensures consistency of assessment between comparable properties. It also follows practise in the rental market. Considerations other than valuation questions cannot influence Rateable Values.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund

Ian Mearns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund to provide additional assistance to businesses that continue to suffer significant disruption as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government recognises that this is a very challenging time for businesses in a wide variety of sectors, and that retail, hospitality and leisure properties are likely to have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis due to their reliance on customer footfall. That is why the Government has provided enhanced support to these sectors in the form of a twelve-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure properties; and via the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund for properties used for these purposes which have a rateable value below £51,000. The Government has also allocated up to an additional £617 million to Local Authorities to enable them to provide discretionary grants to businesses which have been excluded from the RHLGF and the Small Business Grant Fund because of the way they interact with the business rates system.In addition, retail, hospitality and leisure businesses can benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including: An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months;The Bounce Back Loan Scheme, which will ensure that small and micro businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100 per cent guaranteed by the Government;The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit;The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bills; andThe Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed. The Government continues to review the economic situation and consider what support businesses need.

Treasury: Carers

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in his Department had caring responsibilities in each of the last five years.

Kemi Badenoch: HM Treasury does not hold the information in relation to caring responsibilities for the last five years, this is because the Treasury does not collate information in this way. Based on the most recent people survey questionnaire results from December 2019, 188 employees identified as a carer. This figure is based on the number of people responding to the question and may not fully represent the number of carers in the department. Caring responsibilities may have changed as a result of the current crisis and staff are being encouraged to talk to their line manager about any change to circumstances including requests for special leave. These changes could be reflected in a revised or new Carer’s Passport.

Public Expenditure: Falkirk

John McNally: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding the Government has allocated to (a) public services and (b) capital projects in Falkirk constituency in each year since 2010.

Steve Barclay: Falkirk benefits from UK-wide spending by the UK Government in reserved policy areas, but this is not generally managed on a constituency basis. Falkirk will also benefit from a Growth Deal which builds on the UK Government’s commitment for 100% coverage of City and Growth deals across Scotland. In devolved policy areas the UK Government funds the Scottish Government via the Barnett formula. It is for the Scottish Government to allocate its funding on devolved public services and infrastructure across Scotland, including Falkirk.

Hospitality Industry: Finance

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to allocate additional funding to the hospitality sector.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. The hospitality sector continues to have access to a range of government support measures including, but not limited to: A 12-month business rates holiday for all eligible retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in EnglandSmall business grant funding (SBGF) of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate reliefThe retail, hospitality and leisure grant fund (RHLGF)A Discretionary Grant Fund in EnglandThe Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBL) for small and micro enterprisesVAT deferral for up to 12 monthsProtection for commercial leaseholders against automatic forfeiture for non-payment until June 30, 2020 – with an option for the Government to extend if needed. Support for businesses, including the hospitality sector, remains under constant review. The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible and how to apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.

Welfare Assistance Schemes

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 10 June 2020, Official Report column 285, what estimate he has made of the Barnett consequentials arising from the additional £63 million of funding for local welfare assistance.

Steve Barclay: The £63 million of local welfare assistance in England announced by the Prime Minister on 10 June 2020 is expected to be funded from existing UK Government departmental budgets. However, any new funding will be subject to the Barnett formula in the usual way. We have so far announced £7.4 billion of additional funding to the devolved administrations to support people, business and public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This means £3.8 billion for the Scottish Government, £2.3 billion for the Welsh Government and £1.3 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive.

Markets: Coronavirus

Apsana Begum: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether market traders will be able to make retrospective claims for earnings lost whilst they were ineligible for the coronavirus Small Business Grant Fund.

Kemi Badenoch: Market traders are eligible for a £10,000 grant from the Small Business Grant Fund if they occupied a business property that was in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief on 11th March 2020. In addition, market traders may also be eligible for a grant worth £10,000 or £25,000 from the Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Grant Fund, even if they were not in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief. They will be eligible if they have their own business rates assessment, if they occupy a property used for the sale of goods to visiting members of the public (or for other purposes listed in the published guidance on the expanded retail discount for business rates), and if their property has a rateable value of under £51,000. For market traders without their own business rates assessment, the Discretionary Grants Fund, launched on 1st May 2020, provided up to an additional £617m to allow Local Authorities to make grants to businesses in this situation (alongside other types of business). Market traders may also be eligible to receive income support via a grant from the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, or be able to access support from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, depending on their personal circumstances.

Aviation and Tourism: Coronavirus

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings (a) he and (b) his ministers have had with representatives from (a) UK airports, (b) airlines and (c) tourism bodies since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.

Kemi Badenoch: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of stakeholders across sectors as part of ongoing policy development and implementation. Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are in regular contact with airlines, airports and unions, and similarly the Department for Digital, Media, Sport and Culture are working with employers, delivery partners and industry groups to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on sectors like tourism and its workers. As we look forward, we welcome views from representatives and the Treasury will continue to monitor the impact of government support with regard to public services, businesses, individuals, and sectors, and to consider how best to support the economic recovery.

Tourism and Travel: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to protect jobs in the (a) aviation, (b) travel and (c) tourism sectors after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is closed in October 2020.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on businesses and sectors like aviation, travel and tourism. The Treasury’s priority is to support the economy through the immediate crisis. That is why the Chancellor has already announced unprecedented support for individuals and businesses, to keep as many people as possible in their existing jobs, support viable businesses to stay afloat and protect the incomes of the most vulnerable in this current economic emergency. This includes changes to our welfare system with Universal Credit and Statutory Sick Pay; grant schemes such as the Discretionary Grant Fund; a range of government-backed and guaranteed loan schemes; the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. These measures aim to protect the productive capacity of our economy and to enable a strong and sustainable recovery from this crisis. The government has since set out a cautious roadmap for how it intends to gradually reopen our economy, whilst continuing to suppress the outbreak. As we look forward, we will continue to monitor the impact of government support with regard to supporting public services, businesses, individuals, and sectors, and consider how best to support the economic recovery.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Leisure

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the planned timeframe for the reopening of children's rides, miniature golf, boating lakes and other similar outdoor leisure activities.

Nigel Huddleston: We will look at opening the tourism sector and allowing more leisure activities in Step 3 of the Government’s recovery strategy, currently planned for 4 July at the earliest. This will be subject to the further scientific advice and the latest risk assessment at the time.My Department has been working closely with the sector, through the Visitor Economy Working Group to produce guidance on the reopening of the tourism sector. We remain in regular contact with visitor attraction stakeholders through the Visitor Economy Working Group and the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group. The Government is committed to reopening leisure activity facilities as soon as it is safe to do so.Many outdoor recreational areas, including outdoor play areas, remain closed in law as there is a higher risk of close contact and people touching surfaces. Over the coming months, the Government will introduce a range of adjustments to current social distancing controls. The Government will monitor closely the effect of each adjustment, using the effect on the epidemic to gauge the appropriate next step. Any changes to rules in relation to outdoor play areas will be widely communicated.

Cybercrime: East Renfrewshire

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many businesses in East Renfrewshire constituency have enrolled on the Cyber Essentials Scheme.

Matt Warman: From 2016 until the end of April 2020, seven Cyber Essentials certificates have been awarded to organisations in the East Renfrewshire constituency. This is an estimate, as there is incomplete location data for some historical certificate entries. A total of 44,443 certificates have been awarded to organisations across the UK. A search function to find organisations with Cyber Essentials certificates is available at www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberessentials/search.

Football: Coronavirus

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on women’s professional football.

Nigel Huddleston: Football clubs form an integral part of this country and it is important they are given as much support as possible during these difficult times. In light of this, the Government announced a comprehensive and sizable package of direct fiscal support for business through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support. I recently wrote to the Football Association, alongside the other major sport governing bodies, to underline the importance of maintaining the momentum of women’s football. We want to see women’s sport continue to thrive, and football is a popular choice for women and girls to get active (being the second most popular team sport in terms of participation for adult women in England). The government is also looking forward to the UK hosting the rescheduled women’s UEFA European Championships in 2022. The Government will continue to liaise closely with the football authorities on this important matter.

Sports: Coronavirus

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid -19 outbreak on the development of women’s sport at the (a) professional and (b) grassroots level.

Nigel Huddleston: I am keen that we continue to maintain the focus on women’s sport and build on the fantastic progress made in recent years. I am working closely with sports bodies on the return of top level sporting events, and there are a number of major women’s sporting events coming up in the UK to look forward to, for example the women’s Rugby League World Cup next year and the UEFA Women’s Euros in 2022. However, we need to continue championing and raising the profile of women’s sport. That is why on 29 May I wrote to the Football Association, the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League, the Lawn Tennis Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board to ask about their plans for promoting women’s sport at the elite level, increasing women and girls participation and ensuring covid-19 does not have an impact on either of those things. I will be considering their responses with interest.At grassroots level, Covid-19 has brought new challenges to the way people are able to engage in physical activity. I welcome initiatives like Sport England’s “Join the Movement” campaign which is encouraging everyone to stay active during the lockdown. The latest data from Sport England on activity levels during lockdown shows that 33% of women are doing at least 30 minutes of activity on five or more days in the last week, and that women are doing more walking and home-based physical activity.

Hospitality Industry and Tourism: Coronavirus

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the 14-day quarantine period on the (a) tourism, (b) travel and (c) hospitality sectors.

Nigel Huddleston: We remain in regular contact with stakeholders, including UKHospitality, UKInbound and the ABTA, to closely monitor COVID-19’s impact on the tourism, travel and hospitality sectors. No impact assessment has been made by my Department. The Home Office commissioned Her Majesty's Treasury to assess the economic impacts of the mandatory 14 day self-isolation requirement. The Department for Transport fed into this analysis and ensured that the significant impact of the policy on the transport sector was reflected. We appreciate that the quarantine measures will present difficulties for these sectors. The quarantine policy will be reviewed regularly and the first review will take place in the week beginning 28 June. We are also working with the transport industry to see how we can introduce agreements with other countries when safe to do so, so people from the UK can go abroad and tourists can come here. Tourism and hospitality businesses and workers can access the Government’s economic support package. These include the recently extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, loan schemes, as well as business rates relief and grants for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.

Travel: Coronavirus

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the 14-day quarantine period on the financial viability of businesses in the travel sector.

Nigel Huddleston: We remain in regular contact with stakeholders, including UKHospitality, UKInbound and the ABTA, to closely monitor COVID-19’s impact on the financial health of businesses in the travel sector. This includes holding discussions about the effect of the 14-day quarantine period. The Home Office commissioned Her Majesty's Treasury to assess the economic impacts of the mandatory 14 day self-isolation requirement. The Department for Transport fed into this analysis and ensured that the significant impact of the policy on the transport sector was reflected. We appreciate that the quarantine measures will present significant difficulties for the travel and tourism sectors. The quarantine policy will be reviewed regularly and the first review will take place in the week beginning 28 June. We are also working with the transport industry to see how we can introduce agreements with other countries when safe to do so, so people from the UK can go abroad and tourists can come here. Travel businesses and workers can access the Government’s economic support package. These include the recently extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, generous loan schemes and VAT payment deferrals for firms.